Classic Movie Mysteries

Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
A courtoom drama of premeditated murder as a jealous army lieutenant pleads innocent to murdering the rapist of his beautiful wife. Starring James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara.

The Big Clock (1948)
A hotshot crime magazine editor inadvertently becomes the subject of a murder investigation after spending an evening with his boss' mistress. Starring Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, and Maureen O'Sullivan.

The Big Sleep (1946)
L.A. private eye Philip Marlowe takes on a blackmail case and follows a trail peopled with murderers, pornographers, nightclub rogues and the spoiled rich. Starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Based on the novel by Raymond Chandler.

Black Angel (1946)
When a beautiful blackmailer is murdered, the wife of the accused murderer sets out to clear her husband's name. Starring Dan Duryea, June Vincent, Peter Lorre, and Broderick Crawford.

Blue Velvet (1986)
Cleancut college boy Jeffrey Beaumont thinks that his North Carolina hometown is as normal as Mayberry. But when he discovers a human ear in a field near his home, he's catapulted into an alluring, erotic murder mystery involving an emotionally disturbed nightclub singer and a drug-addicted sadist. As his investigation leads him deeper and deeper into their depraved existence, Jeffrey finds himself not only obsessed with this dark, enigmatic underworld, but questioning his own morality as well.

Bullitt (1968)
A star witness in a controversial court case is murdered and the police detective assigned to guard him goes after the killers himself. Featuring car chases in San Francisco. Starring Steve McQueen.

Criss Cross (1949)
An armored car driver secretly meets his ex-wife and then tries to convince her hoodlum husband that he met her only to get her husband's help in an upcoming robbery. Starring
Burt Lancaster, Yvonne DeCarlo, and Dan Duryea.

Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins is a decorated war hero who returns home to work as a private eye. His job of finding a missing socialite puts him between the white power elite and the vibrant black commumnity of Central Avenue. As soon as Easy and his trigger-happy friend Mouse find Daphne Monet, trouble follows. Starring Denzel Washington.

Double Indemnity (1944)
An insurance man and a suburban wife conspire to trick her husband into signing a policy that pays double for accidental death-- then push him from a train. It's an almost perfect crime. Starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson. Based on the novel by James M. Cain.

In the Heat of the Night (1967)
A small town Southern sheriff finds himself in an uneasy alliance with a big-city black homicide detective as they investigate a murder. Starring Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger.

The Killing (1956)
A group of small-time crooks plan a daring race-track robbery--but their well-laid plans go awry. Starring Sterling Hayden and directed by Stanley Kubrick.

Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
A private investigator picks up a young woman hitchhiker who is later killed in an accident which almost kills him too. He then goes about solving the woman's murder and the attempt on his own life. Based on the novel by Mickey Spillane.

The Maltese Falcon (1941)
After the death of his partner, San Francisco private eye Sam Spade is dragged into a quest for a priceless statuette. This classic movie is based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett and stars Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre.

Out of the Past (1947)
Former private detective Jeff Baily is trying to lead a quiet life, but his past comes back to haunt him and he finds himself framed for murder. Starring Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas.

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Steamy tale of a drifter offered a job at a roadside diner by the owner, an easy-going older man. When the drifter and the owner's voluptuous wife fall in love, they plot to kill her husband and run away together. Starring Lana Turner and John Garfield. Based on the novel by James M. Cain.

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)
This is a remake of the 1946 movie with Jack Nicholson, Jessica Lange, John Colicos, Michael Lerner, and Angelica Huston. Watch both and see which one you prefer!

The Thin Man (1934)
Crime/comedy thriller featuring Nick Charles (William Powell), private eye, and his wife Nora (Myrna Loy). The plot unfolds at Christmas when an eccentric inventor disappears after threatening his mistress with a lawsuit for embezzlement. Also based on a Dashiell Hammett novel.

The Third Man (1949)
An American writer goes to Vienna to look for a friend but instead finds death and intrigue on the trail of black marketeers. Starring Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Based on the novella by Graham Greene.

Touch of Evil (1958)
An elaborate mystery involving a corrupt police official in a squalid town on the Mexican border and a murder that ensnares a narcotics agent and his wife.
Starring Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles, and Marlene Dietrich.